Sewing-machine



2v Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. M. LESLIE.

Sewing Machine. ,808. Patented May 24,188].

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A. M. LESLIE, Sewing Machine. No. 241,808. Patented May 24,1881.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR M. LESLIE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SEWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 241,808, dated May 24, 1881.

Application filed July 31, 1880. (Model) To all whom 1t may concern:

Be it known that l, ARTHUR M. LEsLIE, of the city of Chicago, in the county of Cook, Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sewing-Machines, ot'which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

The primary object of this invention is the production of an effective rotary-shuttle sewing-machine which will not twist or untwist the thread, with the utmost simplicity in the number and construction ol'the parts, and provision for passing the shuttle through the needle-loop without friction, and for removing the bobbin at will in the most simple manner without disturbing any other part. These results are accomplished by guiding the shuttle at its periphery by means ot'a circumferential flange thereon occupying agroove in the shuttle-race, which groove is formed, in part, by a removable cap-plate attached by screws, said capplate having an opening concentric with the shuttle, and the latter constructed with an open bobbin-chamber in its outer face within said opening of the cap-plate, with a hollow slotted hub on the shuttle within said bobbin-chamber to support the bobbin, so as to leave a clear annular space at its periphery, and a tensionbrake or combined tension-brake and bobbinret-ainer located in said hub. The tension is applied to the bobbin, and not to the bobbinthread, which passes t'recly out of said open bobbin-chamber, and through said opening in the cap-plate to the cloth direct, while the bobbin can also be removed at will through said opening. The bobbin is kept from continuous rotation by its own thread being arranged to unwind in a direction the reverse of that of the motion of the shuttle, while it is adapted to take up slack in said thread by rotation with the shuttle when there is such slack.

Another object of my said invention is to simplify and perfect the construction of the shuttle-driver, bobbin-retainer, and under tension. The two latter are combined in one, with provision for readily regulating the tension with the utmost nicety, while the shuttle is driven by a projection on the face of the hub, which also forms the cams of the four-motion feed.

Another object of my said invention is to insure driving the single shaft of the new machine in the proper direction, and by the same simple means to provide for readily winding the annular-disk bobbins which I employ. My device for this purpose is a safety-clutch pulley having its hub adapted to receive said bobbins.

Another object of my said invention is to furnish a simple and effective take-up for the top thread, capable of being timed in respect to the needle and shuttle operating parts of the machine. Said take-up consists of a long lever, swiveled at one end to a slide working in a cam-groove in the inner face of the handwheel, and fulcrumed on the face of the arm of the machine.

Another object of my said invention is to facilitate timing the several parts which 00- operate to form the stitches, and I accomplish this by fastening said hand-wheel on the shaft by means of a timing-screw, said hand-wheel carrying the needle-eccentric and the take-up cam, which are cut in proper relation to each other.

Another object of my said invention is to provide avery simple and efiicient tension for the top thread, and I have accomplished this object by constructing a tension device which is at once automatic, adjustable at will, and selfrelieving, so as to insure drawing the stitches into cross-seams, &c., with provision for nicely adjusting the tension for different goods, and provision for letting the thread run free when the presser-foot is held up, by its lifter, for example, as hereinafter more fully set forth.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a side elevation of the upper portion of a rotary-shuttle sewing-machine, illustrating the present invention, certain parts being shown in section and other parts omitted for additional clearness. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same, showing a face view of the shuttle and bobbin, with the face-plate of the shuttlerace removed. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of certain parts of the take-up mechanism. Figs. 4 and 5 are face views of the hand-wheel and driving pulley separated, illustrating more fully the timing, driving, take-up, and shuttlewinding operations. Figs. 6 and 6 are top views of certain parts of the upper-thread tension device. Figs.7 and 8 are perspective face views of the shuttle-driver and shuttle separated. Figs. 9 and 10 are face and back views of the shuttle. Figs. 11 and 12 are opposite edge views of the same. Fig. 13 is a section of the shuttle and bobbin in a central plane, indicated by the line 13, Fig. 10. Fig. 14 is a side View of a part of the bobbin'tension; and Fig. 15 is a face view of the bobbin, these figures, 7 to 15, inclusive, being drawn to larger scales to illustrate more fully the construction and operation of the parts mentioned.

Like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This improved rotary'shuttle machine is designed, primarily, for family sewing and light manufacturing, and for sale as a trcadle-tna chine, with a table or stand of any preferred style, thelat tersupporting the t readle and driving-wheel, with their pitman undband. These accessories, which are not sho\vn,forin no part, however, of the present invention and are not essential thereto, as all the features of the invention can be embodied in a hand-machine.

A long stationary arm or neck, A, terminating in a head, II, and a horizontal base-plate, B, provided with a clotlnplate, (J, beneath said head, atford support forthe working parts. A pair of projections, on the bottom of the plateB afford bearings for a longitudinal shaft, S, which is the only shaft of said mechanism, and may be entirely shoulderless; and to the left of the projection said shaft carries a hub, G, Fig. 7, which is fixed thereon in one posi tion by means of a sunken screw, N, Fig. l, tapped into said hub and projecting into a socket or groove inthe shaft near its end. The body of said hub G forms the cams of an ordinary four-motion feed, F, (which is provided with a regulating-lever, Z, Fig. 2, at the front of the machine,) and the face of said hub is provided with a peculiar segmental projection, d, which constitutes the shuttle-driver. A concentric circular shuttle-race, r, is supported in the same vertical plane as said driver (I. These parts are accommodated and supported respectively by an opening, 3 beneat h the clothplate (3, and a transverse pair of projections, w 00 on the bottom of the base-plate B. The shuttle-race may be cast with the said projections or .90 upon the bed-plate. A rotary shut tle, s,Figs.8 to 13, inclusive, is thus accommo' dated,as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and acap-plate, c, Fig. 1, retains it in place, said cap being attached by screws, to provide for removing the shuttle for inspection and repairs. This will rarely be necessary. \Vhen said cap-plate is in position a circumferential groove is formed which embraces the peripheral edge r of the shuttle, the latter being adapted to work smoothly in said groove, and the shuttle, thus guided at its periphery, is driven by the front end, a, of the projection d, while the pressure at this point is very slight. The thread is thus adapted to pass freely between the shuttle and driver. A deep angular groove, q, in the peripheral surface of the projection d accommodates the point of the needle a preliminary to and during the casting off of the needle-loop of the upper thread, it, the rear end of said projection being detached in the form of along horn, p, which serves to prevent interference between said upper thread and the bobbinthrcad t at and before the entrance of the nose 0 of the shuttle into said needle-loop.

The axis of the shuttle is indicated by a star in Figs. 1 and 9. With one edge at this point, and between said point and the completed portion of the periphery of the shuttle, a thin hollow hub, a, projects at. the face of the shuttle, within a concentric bobbin-chamber, m. An annular bobbin, b, Fig. 15, of the de' sired size, is thus accommodated, the huh a. forming its bearing. its axis the shuttle is cut away close to the margin of the bobbin-chamber, leaving said shuttle only about two-thirds of a circle in area, as represented. The shuttle is thus adapted to disengage the needle-loop at the required early point in its rotation, while the eccentricity of the bobbin is not suiiicient to cause the tension of its thread to be materially affected by the motion of the shuttle,or to cause the bobbin to be jerked into undue motion upon its own axis.

A depressed surface, I, on the face of the shuttle at its heel end is provided with a slot radial to the axis of the hub a. The latter is slotted in line therewith, and a connecting groove is out in the back of the shuttle, as clearly represented in Figs. 10 and 13, for the accommodation of a combined bobbin-retainer and shuttle-tension, which is also illustrated by Figs. 2, 8, 9, 11, 12, and 14.

A slide, ij, occupies the guideway, formed as above described, being retained therein by a flush-key, 7:, in the back of the shuttle. The inner end, 1', of the said slide, occupying the slot of the hub a, acts upon the eye of the bobbin as a combined brake and retainer or latch. The outer end,j, of the same projects slightly in front of the surface I, and is notched to receive one end of a bent wire spring, h, the other end of which is held in a drill-hole, g, in said surface, while an adjustable fulcrum therefor is provided intcrmediately by a screw, f, Fig. 14, tapped into said surface, and having an cecentric head, the position of which determines the pressure of the spring. A clear annular space, it will be observed, is left around the bobbin at the face of the shuttle for the escape of the thread t and the tension is applied to the bobbin itself, and not directly to the bobbin-thread, while the bobbin may be readily removed at will through the opening of the cap 0.

In line vertically with the position of the parts just described in the working machine, a short straight needle, n, is carried by asliding even-motion needle-bar, N. The latter works in guides in the head H, and is driven through the medium of a lever, M, of the first order, attached to the face of the arm or neck A by a pivot-screw, m and a connecting-link, O, which embraces at its lower end an eccen- On the opposite side of trio, 0, by which said needle-bar is driven. Said eccentric e is a part of a hand-wheelJW, Fig. 4, the inner surface of which is also provided with a cam-groove, 8 which receives a swiveled slide, f, at one extremity of a takeup lever, T, Fig. 3, said take-up lever being also attached to the base of said arm or neck, but by a pivot-screw, 9 near the base-plate, while it projects upward from its pivot above and behind the needle-lever M, which is bent outward to accommodate it. Said hand-wheel W is secured on the right-hand end of the shaft S by means of a set-screw, X. By loosening said screw and turning said wheel upon the shaft slightly the needle and take-up are simultaneously timed with the shuttle without the possibility of disarranging the time of the two former. The outer surface of said handwheel W is provided with a concentric cylindrical hub, 7L beyond which a hollow central spindle, 6 projects from the end of said shaft. A driving-pulley, D, Fig. 5, is bored to tit and rotate freely upon said hub W, and is further constructed with a slender hub or sleeve, j which embraces said spindle i and an axial screw, k tapped into the end of said spindle, secures said pulley in place, as shown in Fig. 1. Said pulley is further constructed with an eccentric or tangential groove, 1', in its inner surface, extending inward to the said central bearing-bore, and said eccentric groove accommodates a cylindrical or nearly cylindrical roller, R, and a cushion-spring, Y, the latter in its outer end. Then said pulley is driven in the direction in which the shaft S should rotate, as indicated by arrows 1, said roller R, clinging by friction and inertia to the stationary hub 71. is instantly clamped against the same by the inner end of said groove l and the parts rotate together. (The independent unwinding motion of the bobbin 1) is indicated by arrows 2.) WVhen said pulley D is driven backward, as indicated by arrows 3,

said roller t is released or drawn out of contact with the hub k into the outer end of said groove l and the pulley turns independently. Driven backward thus, said pulley is adapted to serve as a bobbin-winder, as illustrated in Fig. l. The bobbin I), placed face outward on the hub 9' rotates therewith and receives the thread in the proper direction to unwind in the same direction when seated face outward in the shuttle at the opposite end of the shaft. The cushion-spring Y, Fig. 5, starts the roller B. into the inner end of its groove 1 when the forward motion of the pulley is resumed.

Behind the needle-barN the head H guides a vertical presser-bar, P, provided at its lower end with afoot, Q, for holding the goods down under the needle in ordinary manner. The head H being constructed with parallel horizontal portions at top and bottom, the presserbar is provided with a lever-lifter, L, engaging with said lower portion of the head and with a spiral presser-spring, K, beneath said upper portion of the head, being kept from rotating by a longitudinal fin, n occupying a vertical groove in the lower hearin The spring K presses downward against a shoulder, 0 which is formed by a cross pin in the illustration.

Above the head H the presser-har P terminates in an axial pin or finger, 19 which occupies a hole, g in the front end of an upper tension device, T Figs. 6 and 6, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the body of said tension device being a flat spring in the form of a firstorder lever, with its fulcrum formed by a spiral spring, J, surrounding a vertical tension-screw, I, which passes freely through a hole, 10 and is tapped into a projection, (R, on the top of the arm or neck A. Farther along on the top of the arm or neck a bolster, U, which may be adjusable, as shown, or fixed, supports the free end of a clamping-plate, 0 Fig. 6, the other end of which is attached to the tensionlever T between said point and the screw I, by a finger and hole, b forming a loose hingejoint. A notch, ta in the front edge of the clamping-plate c facilitates threading the device. The lever T extends beyond the said clamping-plate, its extreme end d projecting over a relieving-screw, E, which is tapped into the top of the arm or neck A, still farther along toward its bend, said lever end d being notched to admit a screw-driver to said screw for adjusting it. At said bend the top of the arm or neck is provided with a spool-holder, V, having a vertical spindle, v to accommodate the ordinary commercial spool s From this spool s the. upper thread, 2, is passed to an eye, y, in the tension lever'l thence between said lever and the clamping-plate c to an eye, 3/", at the upper extremity of the take-up lever T; thence to an eye, 3 on the front edge of the head H; thence downward to a staple or eye, y, at the lower end of the needlebar N, and thence to the eye of the needle n. The tension 1 is adjusted for a given kind of sewing by turning the screw 1, which compresses or relieves the spring J more or less. \Vhen a crosssea-m, for example, passes under the prcsser-foot Q, the elevation of the latter and its subsequent depression are transmitted through the bar P to the lever portion of said tension, and the latter is thus automatically regulated. When the presser-foot is elevated to a given extent, by means of the lifter L, for example, the notched end d of said tensionlever is brought into contact with the relievingscrew E, which now becomes its fulcrum, and the continuation of said movement lifts said lever out of contact with the clam ping-plate 0 so that the thread may run f1 eely while withdrawingthework,&c. Byadjustingsaidscrew E the thread may be thus released as soon as any given extra thickness is encountered by the needle.

The broad idea of employing a rotary shuttle is known to be old; also the employment of a lever take-up,an automatic tension,au d a safety provision against backward motion, with the other more common parts of my improved machine, separately considered.

My invention consists in the peculiar construction and combination of said parts and their accessories, or certain of them, as hereinafter claimed.

The following is what I claim as new and of my own invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, namely:

1. The combination, in a lock-stitch sewingmachine, of a rotary shuttle having an open bobbin-chamber in its outer face, a hollow slotted hub at the center of said chamber, a tension-brake acting through the slot of said hub, and a circumferential guide flange orprojection with a circular shuttle-race grooved to receive said flange, a cap-plate attached by screws and having a concentric opening to expose said bobbin-chamber, and a bobbin controlled by said tension-brake and removable at will from said hub through said opening, the bobbin-thread passing directly to the cloth through said opening, so that the thread shall not be twisted by the shuttle, while the bobbin is free to turn with the shuttle to rewind slack thread, as herein specified.

2. The combination,in a lock-stitch sewingmachine, of a rotary shuttle having an open bobbin-chamber in its outer face, a hollow slotted hub at the center of said chamber, a combined tension-brake and bobbin-retainer acting through the slot of said hub, and a eircumferential guide flange or projection with a circular shuttle-race grooved to receive said flange, a cap-plate attached by screws and having a concentric opening to expose said bobbin-chamber, and a bobbin controlled by said tension-brake and bobbin-retainer, as herein shown and described, forthe purposes set forth.

3. A rotary shuttle constructed with anopen bobbin-chamber in its outer face and a hollow slotted hub within said chamber, in combination with an annular disk-bobbin mounted on said hub, and a tension device consisting of a friction-brake within said hub, a radial slide carrying said brake at its inner end, a bent wire spring applied to the outer end of said slide, and a regulatingscrew, having an eccentric head engaging with said spring, substantially as herein described.

4. A rotary shuttle constructed with an open bobbin-chamber in its outer face and a hollow slotted hub within said chamber, in combination with an annular disk-bobbin mounted on said hub, and a tension device and bobbin-retainer consisting of a radial slide carrying a friction-brake and retention-hook at its inner end, a bent wire spring applied to the outer end of said slide, and a regulating-screw having an eccentric head engaging with said spring, substantially as herein specified.

5. The combination, in a sewing-machine,of

a rotary shuttle having an open bobbin-chamher in its outer face and a circumferential guide flange or projection, a circular shuttleace grooved to receive said flange, a cap-plate attached by screws, and having a concentric opening to expose said bobbin-chamber, a bobbin removable at will through said opening, and a combined feed-cam and shuttle-driver located parallel to said shuttle-race and having a projection extending into the latter behind tbeheel of said shuttle, as herein specified.

t. The combination, in a sewing-machine,ot' a rotary shuttle having an open bobbin-chamber in its outer face and a circumferential guide flange or projection, a circular shuttlerace grooved to receive said flange, a cap-plate attached by screws, and having a concentric opening to expose said bobbin-chamber, a bobbin removable at will through said opening, and a combined feed'cam and shuttle-driver located parallel to said shuttle-race and having a projection extending into the latter behind the heel of said shuttle, said projection beingconstructed with a deep peripheral notch or groove forming a detached born at the rear end of said projection to accommodate the needle and to prevent any interference between said slmttle-threml and said needle-thread, as herein set forth.

7. The combination, in a sewing-machine,ol' a driving-pulley, an automatic clutch transmitting motion lrom said pulley in one direction only, and a slender axial hub formed on the outer face of said pulley and adapted to carry an annular bobbin for winding the same when said pulley is driven backward independently, as herein specified.

8. The combination, in a sewing-machine,of a driving-pulley having a slender axial hub to carry an annular bobbin, and an automatic clutch transmitting motion therefrom in one direction only, with a shaft and baud-wheel having respectively an axial hollow spindle and a concentric hub occupying the bores of said pulley, said spindle receiving an axial screw for retaining said pulley, as herein shown and described.

9. The combination, in a sewing-machine,ot' a rotary shuttle, a very slightly eccentric annular bobbin from which the thread passes directly to the cloth, a tension device carried by said shuttle and havingafriction-brakewithin the eye of said bobbin, an even-motion needle carrying the upper thread through the cloth to said shuttle, and an automatic device for taking up the slack in said upper thread after said shuttle has passed through the needle-loop, any slack in said bobbin-thread being taken up by the rotation of said bobbin with said shuttle, as herein shown and described.

10. The combination, in a sewing-machine, of a hand-wheel constructed with a cam-groove in its inner face, a slide workingin said groove above the cloth-plate, a take-up lever of hellcrank form swiveled to said slide at one end and i'ulerumed on the face of the arm of the machine, and a radial screw which clamps said wheel on its shaft, so as to time said take-up. as herein shown and described.

11. The combination of a hand-wheel constructed with a take-up cam and a needle-eocentric, a shaft carrying a hub or disk which drives the shuttle and feed mechanism, and a radial screw which clamps said wheel on said shaft and provides for timing the parts.

IIO

12. An automatic upper tension-spring in the form of a lever attached at one end to the top of the presser-bar, in combination with a clamping-plate attached to the bottom of said lever-sprin g by aloose hinge-joint, and a bolster under the free end of said clamping-plate, the fulcrum of said lever-spring being located on top, between said hinge-joint and the presserbar, substantially as herein described.

13. A vertical tension-screw supporting a spiral spring, in combination with a leverspring fulerumed upon the latter and attached to the upper end of the presser-bar, and a clamping-plate hinged to the bottom of said leverspring and supported at its free end on a bolster, substantially as herein described.

14. A relieving-screw arranged and operatlug substantially as herein specified, in combination with an automatic upper tension-sprin g in the form of a lever attached at one end to the top of the presser-bar, said screw forming an adjustable stop to relieve the thread from tension when the presser-bar is thrown up beyond a given point, in the manner herein set forth.

]5. The combination, in a sewing-machine, of the spring which produces the tension on the needle-thread, the presser-foot bar, and a lever arranged between said bar and spring and operated by the presser-foot bar to remove and apply the pressure of the said spring to the needle-thread.

ARTHUR M. LESLIE.

Witnesses:

W. B. LE STAGE, L. A. CARTON. 

